Someone once told me that early in life everything is weddings and baby showers that eventually give way to hospitals and funerals. This note is along those lines.

Many of us have known David Teft (TsgtRet) here on HRW for sometime. He's been a regular contributor here and David and I have a long-standing friendship and would speak almost weekly about slot car related things.

David has had a bout of personal health issues over the past few months that have led to the stark realization that he has cancer. While the onset of symptoms has been quick, the resulting toll on his health has been even quicker. David is now in hospice in N.C. and honestly, does not sound like his normal self. Our phone calls now last less than two minutes. His wife has my phone number for the inevitable call and if that happens, I'll post back here.

David proudly served his country in the USAF and was a an old "Phantom Phyxer" (his own words) but also worked on KC-135's. He loved to talk all things that flew and we talked quite a bit about my trips to see my son at WPAFB. He sent my son a set of special USAF 25th anniversary cuff links for his uniform when he graduated AFIT with his masters degree. That always meant a lot to me and Christopher.

David also loves his slot cars. I just sent him one of my Falcon kits in late June that he was excited to build. His track - Peel Field was a really nice little track that David spent a good deal of time on. I remember sending him a batch of blem figures that he "Frankenstein'd" into characters for the track. He was giddy getting to do that.

I'll post two pictures that I think remind me the most of David - this pic of his love of F4 Phantoms taken in 1978:

And this picture that shows his love for sports cars on his track:

David gave me permission to post this and while he may be able to still read HRW, he says he won't be able to post back.

I'm sure thoughts and prayers for David and his family will be appreciated.

Sir, I know exactly how you feel because being close to 70 YOA I have experienced many losses of my fellow slot car friends. I am typing this while getting ready to take a 50 mile ride for Wednesday Practice night for The Barn Burners Slot Car Club and also raced there this past Saturday. As I stated I am near 70 and although I am still competitive and win my share slot racing has evolved to more of a social event than an out and out competitive event. I am sure that some of the people in the clubs where I run think that sometimes (if not all of the time) I am crazy. I will hear somebody say or yell something from the track, pits or social area of the room and it will bring back memories of somebody from my past that might no longer be with us and a smile will come to my face.

I might remember a great slot car racer by the name of Jay Kisling who, during a Parma Challenge Cup Race in Cleveland, Ohio throw his controller and almost get kicked out of the race by the owner of Parma.

I might remember good friend from North Carolina, David Stox, walking up to me after practice and holding one of his prize hand built motors in his hand and giving it to me saying, you are driving better tonight than I am and I refuse to beat you because you can not build a fast motor.

I might remember Gene Collier telling me about a great bunch from Md. and Pa. running 1/32 scale cars (IHSR) and I should get rid of the 1/24 Commercial Track Cars and come and have some real fun. I now race with them several times a year.

Yes, these people might not be racing with us any longer but as long as I breath they will always be a part of me.

I am extremely saddened to hear this news Dave, thank you for sharing.I've had a few private messages on HRW's mail with Tsgt in the past as we both had chats about being Ohioians and Sohio. and some slot car stuff too.Felt we were friends in slots as much as the state we were born in.

TsgtRet, any I can do back here in Ohio please feel free to reach me here or via dreinecke. ( If you don't mind David).

My best to him and his family in this difficult time.

Mike

"When you’re back there with the squirrels, you’re bound to get your nuts cracked." - Graham Rahal

I've been dreading this a long time. Sarge and I have so many things in common, we found each other on HRW right away, a long time ago, probably around the time I met David R on HRW. We both truly love the great sports cars of the past, and we have fed each other's addiction for years, not to mention lots of airplane talk. He loved the F-4's, one version in particular, and I love WWII and earlier aircraft. We are both engine guys.

Sarge has always been fun to converse with, even if its just PMs. Lots of common ground with airplanes, sports cars, and memories we share from being similar aged. I was one of the folks that helped a little when he needed to find potential places to live that had to be close to military bases with good hospitals. Any excuse for research, after all. As his various health challenges mounted up, I only wrote him once in a while, as his health was making sitting up to type difficult and painful. When I stopped hearing from him, it was clear something was very wrong. That was late June, and he asked that I keep his condition quiet.

David, That's terrible news! Peel Field was one of my favorite tracks to read about, because it was so representative of the kind of home race tracks that I imagine most of us really have. I'm not talking about you wood guys, but those of us who put plastic tracks on a table in a permanent setup and then add stuff we like to personalize our setup. There was always something new going on there that one could easily reproduce and enjoy. I have also had off-line email conversations with him on various topics and this forum will certainly not be the same if he is no longer able to participate!

My thoughts and prayers go out to he and his family. It is great to have this community to share our life's challenges. May everyone take a moment to reflect this Labor Day weekend, hug your family member, your neighbor and say hello to a perfect stranger! We need to cherish what we have and that is life.Aloha Dale

Unfortunately for me I've never had the pleasure of meeting him. I have always enjoyed his posts because the joy and pride he had for Peel Field was always so obvious in each message.Prayers to him and the family and all you HRW members who had the opportunity to share in his life.

Wow, this is hard news to take. Tsgt. and myself had conferred several times about slot cars, 3d printing, and of course, USAF adventures at home and abroad. What hits hard with me is that when I went in the Air Force I wasn't drafted or was even signed up for the draft. I went in right out of High School after graduation and was only seventeen. I went into the USAF a year before Tsgt. but we almost crossed paths with adventures in Mildenhall, England and even England AFB in LA but then I went westward towards Thailand and later to the Philippines. What was funny was how we met our first wives in the USAF but I'm still married to her which is due to the fact that she worked on the Jet engines where I worked on the Fuel Systems so she really depended on me. What really got Tsgt going (and myself) was talking about the F-4's. He worked on the F4C where I worked on the F4D, F4E, The F4E Tissio, and the RF4C. Both one of our favorite fighters. And I just had to bore him with my experience listening to Capt. Richie talk about getting his fifth mig at commanders call.What really scares me is I've seen people that served during that era that are either fighting cancer or have lost their battle. I've lost a cousin and a Father-in-law to cancer and they were in the Navy. The ships that they were on, have since been noted for Agent Orange exposure. What gets to me is that the Base that I was stationed at in Thailand has been noted for Agent Orange exposure. Whats bad is that I've been informed that I am not covered since I was in the SP unit patrolling the base perimeter. I just have to keep my cool and show them the pictures I took while I was there showing that the Barracks were located next to the base perimeter and I worked out on the Trim Pad troubleshooting the F4's with fuel transfer issues.Thanks for the update David R. and if Tsgt. is reading this, I'll get started on that Turbine that you had me model up and post the pictures if its ok with you.